Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Ryan Collins skated for the Minneapolis Park bantam team in Minnesota and was selected by the Portland Winterhawks in the eighth round (174th overall) of the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft.

2011-12: Collins skated in the Upper Midwest Elite HS league in the fall and was part of Benilde-St. Margaret’s Class AA state champion high school team in the winter. He scored 2 goals with 2 assists and had 9 penalty minutes in 22 fall games. The sophomore scored 1 goal with 4 assists and was plus-11 with 8 penalty minutes in 29 games for the Red Knights; who defeated Hill-Murray 5-1 in the championship game. Collins was selected by Green Bay in the 21st round (315th overall) of the 2012 USHL Entry Draft.

2012-13: Collins joined the USA National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, MI — skating for the NTDP’s U17 squad — and represented the USA in the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 2 goals with 7 assists and 20 penalty minutes in 56 games. An assistant captain for Team USA at the WHC he scored 2 goals with 1 assist and had 4 penalty minutes as the USA won a bronze medal. In October 2012 he committed to playing for the University of Minnesota in 2014-15.

2013-14: Collins returned to Ann Arbor for his second season with the NTDP. He played for the USA U18 team in the 2014 World Junior Championship and was one of the leaders for Team USA at the 2013 Four Nations Tournament in the fall. In 59 games for the NTDP U18 squad he scored 1 goal with 6 assists and was plus-20 with 26 penalty minutes. In seven games at the WJC he had 2 assists and was plus-4 with 6 penalty minutes. The USA finished fifth; losing to Russia in the quarterfinals. Collins played in the 2013 USA Hockey/CCCM All-American Prospects game. He was ranked 57th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was selected by Columbus in the second round (47th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Talent Analysis

Collins is a defensive defenseman whose size and skating ability make him effective in his own end of the ice. His reach and positional awareness allow him to prevent opponents from creating scoring changes and he has a strong first pass to start the transition. As with many players his size his agility and mobility is a concern but should improve during his time at the University of Minnesota.

Future

Collins is in his freshman season at the University of Minnesota in 2014-15. He attended USA Hockey's junior evaluation camp in Lake Placid in August and was among the 10 defensemen selected to attend the final camp for the 2015 World Juniors. Currently competing to get ice time on a deep blue line for the Golden Gophers, he projects to being a shut-down defender with a limited offensive game but with the type of defensive awareness and size that NHL teams covet. He should continue to develop and mature in all areas of his game during his college career.

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